More than half of the smartphones to be sold around the globe will boast near field communication, a key technology in mobile payment, in 2016, a report showed Tuesday, casting a cloud over Samsung Electronics Co.'s latest mobile payment tool, Samsung Pay.

The portion of NFC-equipped smartphones will reach 52.4 percent in 2016, compared to an estimated 39.8 percent this year, the data compiled by industry tracker Strategy Analytics showed.

Strategy Analytics added the portion of new models that support NFC technology will continue to increase over next few years to reach 71.8 percent in 2020.

The NFC format is considered a key technology for mobile payment tools, including U.S. Apple Inc.'s Apple Pay and Google Inc.'s Android Pay. Samsung Pay also supports NFC.

But Samsung's platform was considered significant as it also came with magnetic secure transmission technology, which does not call for separate payment devices at shops unlike its NFC counterparts, and also works on traditional credit card devices.

Market watchers said the rising number of NFC-backed smartphones will make Samsung Pay less attractive to users, while allowing Google-backed Android Pay to gain stronger ground.

The Android operating system accounts for more than 80 percent of all smartphone phone operating systems, they added. (Yonhap)